Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Of Class and Play: Free Cinema I
The first wave of state sponsored British documentary lead by John Grierson had very high minded ideals. They were films inspired by Walter Lippman's notion for society to know itself better and for self identification of noble world at work to lead to a better society.
The Free Cinema movement of the fifties and sixties seems more inspired to document play, class, in a natural spirit of the times. Most importantly it served as the film school for the likes of Tony Richardson, Lindsay Anderson, and Karel Reisz whose creativity and influence impacted the cinema in their many achievements beyond Free Cinema documentaries. The films were filmed using the likes of a 16mm hand cranked Bolex, and were highly modeled in the editing room with a variety of soundtrack resources. Here is the manifesto for the first program of Free Cinema from 1956 and some comments from my screening of these in the new BFI collection on DVD of British Free Cinema. The entire program is available here.
O Dreamland by Lindsey Anderson
The first image is a chauffeur polishing a Rolls Royce, the we enter a fenced gate to the carnival. Images shown are in direct irony with a soundtrack featuring Frankie Laine singing I Believe and Bingo numbers being called. Anderson's camera and cutting explores the surreal environment of the carnival midway. The fun seems bleak and forced.
Momma Don't Allow by Karel Reisz and Tony Richardson
First a rehearsal of a slow traditional dixieland blues intercut with butchers in the kitchen, a dentist office, showing folks getting off work. Then life at the night club. Smoking, drinking talking swinging. High toned upper class folks come in as the chauffeur pulls off the hood ornament. All dance and groove to the hot dixieland sounds at the Wood Green Jazz Club Slow blues changes the mood and folks talk and gaze at one another. Light reflections of the disco ball reverses right when the tag coda is played. Turtle necked hipster chick goes outside followed by a "what's wrong baby" back inside the music picks up and the rich folks leave. Dude talks her back inside. Final uptempo blues and the night and film are over. Impressive rhythmic cutting and use of looped sound. At times feels like it was truly synched up.
Together by Lorenza Mozetti and Denis Horne
Lindsey Anderson had an editing credit as well. Intertitle shows this is going to be about London's East End. Sounds and sights of children playing
Barges on the river. Sound plays a critical part in these films, that are in essence silent. Non-actors staged. I guess I somehow missed that the two main characters were deaf mutes. Certainly the lively pub scene is broken up with silence on the soundtrack as geezer is chatting at one of the young lads the film is following. Another clue should have been the protagonists find their way home and a truck wants them to move out of way. Shots in this film have a rhythm and a repetition that feels natural and a lot like Italian Neorealism. Great scene where a sweatered beatchick dances as a kind of barker in a carnival followed by more pub more hot dancing Big guy plays with marbles again A chick finally cop in street skinny guy home chick comes home lovin' Natural sounds of the harbor return to the wall. Kids play and move through an abandoned building intercut children a silent film greek chorus, retuning again man on the wall bridge overlooking the harbor.
These films are the DNA foundation for the kitchen sink British New Wave to follow, with most of these filmmakers expanding their vision into stories of working folks, youth, and anxiety as the fifties turned into the sixties making stars of folks like Tom Courtney and Albert Finney in the process. As the original Free Cinema states, the fictional features of the films also were created with the feeling that "An attitude meant a style." And "A Style Meant an attitude."
posted by well-executed buffet at 8:48 PM
Comments:
Hi,
Do you have information about the Wood Green Jazz Club you mention please? I can't find anything about it anywhere.
Thanks,
Lou
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Do you have information about the Wood Green Jazz Club you mention please? I can't find anything about it anywhere.
Thanks,
Lou
______
Lou, all I know is that it was a classic 1950s club on the west end of London and that it was featured in the Free Cinema short "Mama Don't Allow" Most references in my Google search relate to the film. --Bob
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